All posts in: Lessons

26 Jul 2010

Capitol Hill Block Party 2010: Recap

I don’t believe that there will any other weekend this summer that will be able to top this one. I did not have a 3-day pass to the block party, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t on the hill all three days. I also decided that since I wasn’t doing any interviews or committing to any projects for this year’s block party I was going to have fun with my best friend. Unfortunately, that means no street style photos 🙁 There are photos everywhere though! They can be found in this Flickr group that was made to collect the pool of photos from this weekend.

Friday: DAY1

Yeasayer: First off, Mayor Mike McGinn mispronounced their name while introducing the band. Bad start. Yeasayer was actually one of the bands that I was really looking forward to seeing ever since my friend Max got me into them. I don’t know where this performance went wrong, but it did horribly. The sound was way off. We weren’t too far away, but it always seemed too muffled. Their inability to impress us made us go elsewhere.

Holy Fuck: Holy Fuck was one of the many bands that blew everyone away at Capitol Hill Block Party this weekend. The reviews were so good that they named them as the band that stole away the entire show – even from MGMT. Last year, I had the opportunity to see Holy Fuck perform at San Diego’s Street Scene and they immediately became my new favorite group. They have a way of doing things so effortlessly. There’s a lot that goes into their sound, but they manage to pull it off w/ ease considering how complex all of it is. If you ever have the chance to see Holy Fuck live, please do it. It might just change your life. Don’t believe me? Read the reviews!

MGMT: When word got out that MGMT was going to be performing at this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party, young college students and jr. high preteens all over Seattle were about to shell out their money for a chance to hear “Electric Feel,” “Kids,” and “Time to Pretend.” They were the only songs that they knew. You could tell that the majority of the crowd weren’t even fans because they were unfamiliar with their new CD “Congratulations.” I wasn’t even close to MGMT during their set, but there were people around me that were still asking who the band was halfway through the set!

At the end of the night, Holy Fuck won over my heart once again. Sorry MGMT, I wasn’t feelin’ it.

Sunday: DAY 3

Blue Scholars: They’re local favorites and they have performed at nearly every single venue in the area including my own high school. Mayor Mike McGinn took the stage once again to claim that they were his favorite rap group. Meanwhile everyone’s thinking “you can get off the stage now…” haha For my first time seeing them, I would say that they are so-so. They know how to get a crowd going and they realized that they weren’t at any music festival. They were at the Capitol Hill Block Party so they needed to make it more hipster friendly, which they did by pairing their raps with The XX’s “Intro” [I loved] and Modest Mouse’s “Float On.” After awhile though, I had had enough about hearing the 206 and 808 area codes repeatedly.

The Dead Weather: What an experience it was to finally get to see The Dead Weather perform. There was a lot of hype swirling around them considering they were the band to close out the Capitol Hill Block Party. What I liked about them was that they were very different from all of the bands and artists that came out this weekend. They were fucking rock stars and they just didn’t give a shit about anything. For the most part, Capitol Hill Block Party had a very upbeat, poppy, energetic atmosphere surrounding it, but The Dead Weather wasn’t afraid to get dark. Alison Mosshart, hair in her face and owning that stage was terrifying. At the end of the night I didn’t really feel like I was at Block Party anymore, but maybe at a satisfying end to a beautiful funeral. The Dead Weather has made me write sentences that I didn’t even know could make any sense at all.

Now I would like to commend a special group of people at the Capitol Hill Block Party. They are the most dedicated fans you have ever seen. They sacrifice their hunger, thirst, and bladder. However, they leave the show feeling the most satisfied out of anyone though. A couple of bruises mean nothing when you get to be up against the fence for the entire day watching your favorite artists perform on the main stage. For that, you deserve some sort of an award or something.

Congratulations, I hope the stench and discomfort were worth it!

To view the rest click here

I’d like to finish off this lengthy post with some lessons learned from this year’s experience:

Never let your friend pee in a water bottle if he refuses to go to the bathrooms and loses his spot. He must hold it. The pee will get on you.
It beats the vom though.
Be polite. If you are moving through the crowd, say “Sorry” and “Excuse me.” like your parents taught you to. Do it with a smile and no one will even think twice about giving you a back hand to the face.
Avoid pushing through the crowd to the front with a chain of people behind you. If everyone had the opportunity to be closer, they would. Let’s not be selfish now.
Make friends with your neighbors! They’re awesome.
Dress appropriately. Don’t over-do it.
Don’t puke. No one likes the vom.

14 Jul 2010

The Hills – and what it has taught us

Nearly every discussion board I have seen post The Hills series finale show fans that are “shocked” or “confused” by the ending last night. I am not. I’m not shocked, confused, upset, hurt, on the verge of tears. Nothing. – By the way, reading this post is a spoiler alert. If you were a true fan you would have watched the finale at 10 PM and/or Midnight last night. – Have I not been saying this whole that The Hills was fake?! I believe it was earlier this year that I even posted up a picture of Kristin Cavallari holding onto a Hills script!

The last scene of the finale showed a tearful goodbye between Brody and Kristin before she left for Europe. [We already know she didn’t leave because she was going to be at the after show!] As Kristin hopped into the limo we see her peer out the window nostalgically. Brody Jenner can do nothing, but stand there and watch his ex-girlfriend drive away. We have seen this similar scene nearly every season of The Hills. Just when you think you’ve seen the ending BAM! the Hollywood sign behind Brody is wheeled away to reveal him standing on a back lot, the camera pans out and Kristin’s limo is still there. Though some fans are saying it was a bad ending, I thought it was fantastic. Were the producers revealing that the “unscripted” show wasn’t what it appeared to be after all? Was everyone on the show just poking fun at the critics who believed it was scripted? One fan even compared The Hills ending finale to finding out that Santa Clause wasn’t real. The reason why some are unhappy with the ending was because reality television just got very real.

Even though the show has ended [finally] it didn’t feel like the end. We’re still going to hear about them in the news, they’re all going to put out books and design clothing lines. I actually thought Kristin going to Europe was a joke especially after that ending and I expected Stephanie Pratt to come out and say that she was getting a reality show next! The after show was way over hyped. Here’s what you missed:

Holly cried after seeing clips of a very young and innocent Heidi pre-Spencer.

There was a video montage making fun of Justin’s poor ability to make complete sentences.

Even though Spencer was kicked off mid-season, they still highlighted his “best” moments.

******

I have had my fair share of ups and downs w/ The Hills over the years. It did, however, teach all of us some very important lessons throughout it’s six-year run [not saying these are all realistic]:

Never date anyone w/ flesh-colored facial hair.
It’s not very hard to get an internship in the fashion industry!
Don’t tell your boss/interviewer that your ultimate goal is to someday design a handbag collection when you are interviewing with a PR company. Relevancy is key.
You can make any television show be what you want it to be with good editing.
You haven’t worked until you’ve worked with Kelly “Cut Throat” Cutrone.
If you’re ever been on a reality show, you can have whatever you want – a book deal, a clothing line, movie roles, a record deal, and hey! maybe another reality show spinoff after the one you’re on gives you the boot.
Never get ten plastic surgeries in one day.
“I want to forgive you and I want to forget you.
“My name’s Justin, but my friends call me Bobby.”
Never choose a guy over Paris.
Note to self: When crying, make sure tears align correctly w/ mascara to create black emo tears for dramatic effect.

06 Feb 2010

Jack’s Mannequin recap

source

Being able to see one of your favorite bands from your teenage years and present years is probably one of the greatest experiences you will have in your life. I feel so lucky that in this school year so far, I have been able to travel off campus to see the musicians I grew up listening to in real life! Cartel and Jack’s Mannequin.

Things that I have learned from last night:

When going to a concert, you may not want to wear denim cut-cut offs and Uggs. It gives everyone the impression that you don’t know what season we are currently in. I don’t care how warm it was in the day time, it is still February.
PDA. Know your limit. Little kisses – fine. Don’t stand next to me if you’re going to go “Twilight” on your girlfriend’s neck.
Your friend got stuck at work and couldn’t make it to the show? Calling him on your cellphone and holding up your phone so that he can listen to the show after while you are singing lyrics and swaying alone is awkward. Also, “JonBoy” isn’t going to be able to hear ANYTHING. Nice try though. I guess you get credit for trying to be a good clueless friend.
Please, please don’t be obnoxious by pushing others out of the way to get to the front. Nobody. likes. you. You’re not the only one that would like to get closer to the stage, but be polite. Don’t touch my hair and don’t breathe on my head and absolutely do NOT grind on me.

Andrew McMahon,

Thank you for a wonderful show. I was nowhere near the stage, but with great company. I enjoyed [almost] every minute of last night, please come back to Seattle soon. I’ll dance to your songs even if no one else does.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z59snMlk1h8]

Jack’s Mannequin – Dark Blue – Music at 0:55

“It’s music that is what ties us all together in this world.” – Andrew McMahon

08 Nov 2009

From the Classroom

It is a rare treat when a class I happen to be taking involves fashion in the lesson plan. I’ve always considered myself to be someone who is very fashion-conscious and aware of particular rules, (even though I break most) however, last Friday, my management professor informed me of rules I had never even known before.

I’m taking these straight from my notes and transmitting them through my keyboard in hopes that you’ll find them as useful as I did.

Wearing white can reek of authority and resistance. If you’re going to wear a dress shirt or blouse, go with the color. Color is more approachable.
Men – Wear a black tie for formal events. Not colored, not patterned. If you are the host only you are allowed to wear a white tie.
Dress conservative, talk radical
If at a formal event, men you allowed to take off your jacket when the host takes off his.
At a wedding, the host is considered the father of the bride.
The only time you can get away with wearing a dress sans tights is if it is the peak of summer or it is a little black dress.
Women – always have a spare blouse and scarf.

05 Nov 2009

Poker Face

My MGMT professor says that within three seconds of meeting someone new, you will ask yourself two questions. “Is this person a threat?” or “Can I breed w/ this person?”

smart right?